Candlewick holder remover

ABSTRACT

The candlewick holder remover enables an individual to easily remove the candlewick holder that is left in the candlestick after the candle has burned in it. The candlewick holder remover comprises an elongated portion and a removing portion, the latter comprising at least one sharp edge to cut the wax and pry the candlewick holder from the candlestick.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

There are no cross-related applications.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present patent application claims the benefits of priority ofcommonly assigned Canadian Patent Application No. 2,637,501, entitled“Candlewick holder remover” and filed at the Canadian IntellectualProperty Office on Jul. 11, 2008.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Candles are used everywhere around the world to provide light, todecorate, to perfume and to fulfill religious goals. The candlewickusually located in the center of the candles is often connected to acandlewick holder which is a small metal disc comprising means to holdthe candlewick in place when the candles are made. After a candle hasburned, there is usually a residue of wax in which the candlewick holderis contained. The wax acts as glue and the candlewick holder becomesstuck into the candlestick or the recipient receiving the candle. Beforeputting a new candle in the candlestick or the recipient, it isnecessary to remove the candlewick holder from the previous candle whichcan be difficult at times. Indeed, there is no tool for this usage andindividuals often use conventional tools from the kitchen that are notmade for this purpose. There are risks to break the tools used or risksthat the individual may hurt himself/herself. There is thus a need for atool allowing an individual to remove candlewick holders fromcandlestick.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

A first object of the present invention is to provide a tool to remove acandlewick holder from a candlestick or other candle recipient after acandle has burned in it.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a tool to removea candlewick holder from a candlestick or other candle recipient whichis simple and easy to use.

A third object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensivetool to remove a candlewick holder from a candlestick or other candlerecipient.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention willbe obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiments aboutto be described or will be indicated in the appended claims, and variousadvantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the artupon employment of the invention in practice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A candlewick holder remover to remove a candlewick holder from acandlestick after a candle contained in the candlestick has burned, thecandlewick holder remover comprising an elongated portion having alongitudinal axis, a first extremity and a second extremity; and aremoving portion comprising at least one sharp edge, the removingportion being connected to the first extremity of the elongated portionangularly from the longitudinal axis, and the sharp edge being at apredetermined distance from the longitudinal axis.

The elongated portion allows an individual to manipulate the candlewickholder remover in order to remove the candlewick holder, also referredto sometimes as a candlewick tab, from a candlestick or other candlerecipient.

The removing portion comprises at least one sharp edge that is used topenetrate the wax and to slide under a portion of the candlewick holderto pry it out from the candlestick. The sharp edge refers herein to anedge that is sharp enough to cut wax. The sharp edge has to be distancedfrom the elongated portion so as to be able to penetrate under thecandlewick holder.

The removing portion may be available in a plurality of sizes toaccommodate a plurality of candle holder or candlestick sizes.Preferably, the removing portion should be usable with candlestickreceiving the conventional votive elongated candles. The diameter or theoverall dimension of the removing portion is smaller than the openingthat receives candles and the removing portion should be able to beslightly rotated in order to pry or pop out the candlewick holder.

The removing portion may be made from metal or at least partially madefrom metal. The sharp edge(s) is(are) preferably made from metal so itmay easily cut the wax but other hard material can be used for thispurpose, such as wood or some plastics. The elongated portion may bemade from a variety of material, as long as it is resistant enough tosupport the pressure and the flexion applied by an individual on it. Thematerial for the elongated portion may be, for example, wood, metal orplastic.

The removing portion comprises preferably a recess adjacent to the sharpedge so it is easier for the sharp edge to penetrate into wax and to gounder the candlewick holder. The recess comprised or formed by the atleast one sharp edge allows the removing portion to partially slideunder the candlewick holder and to pry or pop out the candlewick holder.

For the removing portion, a circular shape or a partially circular shape(from a bottom view perspective) will give better result because thecandlewick holder is most often circular. However, the removing portionmay have a rectangular shape, a squared shape, or any other suitableshape.

The top surface of the removing portion is preferably spherical ortapered to facilitate the rotation of the candlewick holder remover intothe opening of a candlestick that receives the candle.

The second extremity may be used to connect other accessories to be usedwith candles or an accessory for the manipulation of the candlewickholder remover. A handle or a candlesnuffer may be connected to theelongated portion of the candlewick holder remover, for example. It isto be understood that other accessories could be connected to the secondextremity of the elongated portion.

It is to be noted that the term “candlestick” refers to usualcandlestick as well as to any other recipient or container used to holda candle.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel areset forth with particularity in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the inventionwill become more readily apparent from the following description,reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a first embodiment of the candlewick holderremover.

FIG. 2 a is a partial cross-section view of an embodiment of theremoving portion of the candlewick holder remover.

FIG. 2 b is a bottom view of the removing portion of FIG. 2 a.

FIG. 3 a is a partial front view of a second embodiment of the removingportion of the candlewick holder remover.

FIG. 3 b is a bottom view of the removing portion of FIG. 3 a.

FIG. 4 a is a partial front view of a further embodiment of the removingportion of the candlewick holder remover.

FIG. 4 b is a bottom view of the removing portion of FIG. 4 a.

FIG. 5 is a front view of another embodiment of the candlewick holderremover comprising a candlesnuffer.

FIG. 6 is front view of a further embodiment of the candlewick holderremover comprising a handle.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing another embodiment of the candlewickholder remover.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a further embodiment of the candlewick holderremover.

FIG. 8 a is a partial side view of the candlewick holder remover.

FIG. 8 b is a partial bottom view of the candlewick holder remover end.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A novel candlewick holder remover will be described hereinafter.Although the invention is described in terms of specific illustrativeembodiment(s), it is to be understood that the embodiment(s) describedherein are by way of example only and that the scope of the invention isnot intended to be limited thereby.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the candlewick holder remover 100,comprising an elongated portion 120 and a removing portion 105. Theremoving portion 105 comprises sharp edges 110 and 112, and a recess115. The sharp edges 110 and 112 are destined to penetrate into theresidues of wax left in the candlestick or the candle recipient. The topportion of the removing portion 105 has a spherical shape.

FIGS. 2 a and 2 b show a removing portion having a circular shape. Thesharp edge 210 surrounds the recess 215. As shown by the arrow 240, thesharp edge 210 is at a predetermined distance from the elongated portion120.

In FIGS. 3 a and 3 b, the removing portion has partially circular shape.The recess 315 is surrounded by two sharp edges 310 and 312.

The FIGS. 4 a and 4 b illustrate a removing portion having rectangularshape. The recess 415 is surrounded by two sharp edges 410 and 412.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the candlewick holder remover,comprising an elongated portion 120, a removing portion 105 and acandlesnuffer 125.

FIG. 6 shows a further embodiment of the candlewick holder remover,comprising an elongated portion 120, a removing portion 105 and a handle130.

FIG. 7 shows a candlewick holder remover having only one sharp edge 512on one side and the recess 515.

FIGS. 8 a to 8c shows another embodiment of the removing portion havingthe shape of a curved spatula. The removing portion 605 comprises asharp edge 612, which is rounded. The removing portion 605 is acontinuity of the elongated portion 120 and the free end of the removingportion is wider than the cross-section of the elongated portion. Asshown by the arrow 640, the sharp edge 612 is at a predetermineddistance from the elongated portion.

To remove a candlewick holder, the candlewick holder remover is insertedinto the opening where the candle has burned up. The individual puts thesharp edge on the wax beside the candlewick holder, applies a downwardforce, and rotates the candlewick holder remover so that the sharp edgecuts the wax and penetrates under the candlewick holder. This will pryout the candlewick holder and usually the remaining wax. Thepredetermined distance between the elongated portion and the sharp edgeallows the removing portion to goes under the candlewick holder with thepreviously described manipulation.

While illustrative and presently preferred embodiment(s) of theinvention have been described in detail hereinabove, it is to beunderstood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variouslyembodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to beconstrued to include such variations except insofar as limited by theprior art.

1) A candlewick holder remover to remove a candlewick holder from acandlestick after a candle contained in said candlestick has burned,said candlewick holder remover comprising: a) an elongated portionhaving a longitudinal axis, a first extremity and a second extremity;and b) a removing portion comprising at least one sharp edge, saidremoving portion being connected to said first extremity of saidelongated portion angularly from said longitudinal axis, and said sharpedge being at a predetermined distance from said longitudinal axis. 2)The candlewick holder remover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said atleast sharp edge of said removing portion forms a recess. 3) Thecandlewick holder remover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said removingportion has the shape of a curved spatula. 4) The candlewick holderremover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said removing portion has acircular shape, said removing portion comprising one sharp edge. 5) Thecandlewick holder remover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said removingportion has a partially circular shape, said removing portion comprisingat least two sharp edges. 6) The candlewick holder remover as claimed inclaim 1, wherein said removing portion has a rectangular shape, saidremoving portion comprising at least two sharp edges. 7) The candlewickholder remover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said recess has a concaveshape. 8) The candlewick holder remover as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising a handle connected to said second extremity of said elongatedportion. 9) The candlewick holder remover as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising a candle snuffer connected to said second extremity of saidelongated portion.